Elderly driver slams into parked cars

A 92-year-old Wisconsin man managed to slam into nine cars while trying to leave a parking lot.

The elderly driver was attempting to back out of a stall at a Piggly Wiggly parking lot when he lost control of his minivan.

Mayville Police Chief, Christopher MacNeill said, “I can tell you in 23 years of law enforcement, I’ve never seen anything like this. My first thought was, ‘You only see these situations when someone is trying to elude police or in incidents of road rage.’”

MacNeill explained that, “His foot got stuck on the accelerator, and from that point, he panicked.”

Of the nine vehicles Russle Kerr hit, only two had occupants. No one was hurt.

Although Kerr won’t be getting a ticket, police did report the accident to the Department of Motor Vehicles, who will now determine if Kerr needs to retake his driving test.

The Wisconsin DMW says that some seniors are only asked to complete a basic vision test in order to renew their driver’s license.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are more than 33 million elderly drivers — aged 65 and over — in the US and that 500 are injured every day in vehicle crashes.

CDC also says fatal crash rates increase starting at age 75 and increase notably after age 80. They cite age-related declines in vision and cognitive functioning (ability to reason and remember), as well as physical changes, for the main reasons in fatal crashes and add that across all age groups, males had substantially higher death rates than females.